Astros shortstop has broken hand

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Houston Astros shortstop Clint Barmes has a broken left hand, the result of getting hit by a pitch, and is expected to miss four to six weeks.

Barmes had X-rays Saturday morning that revealed the injury. He was hit just above the wrist by a pitch from the Yankees’ Ivan Nova in Friday night’s exhibition game in Tampa.

Tommy Manzella was called back up from the Triple-A roster just two days after being sent down. He was the Astros’ starting shortstop on opening day last season.

“I had my mind kind of set on going to Oklahoma City and completely bought into that, and then all of a sudden things change,” Manzella said. “It’s amazing how quickly your situation can change, but it can also change the other way.”

As of now, Angel Sanchez and non-roster invitee Oswaldo Navarro are the only other shortstops in camp.

Earlier this spring, promising catcher Jason Castro was lost for most or all of the season when he tore his right knee.

“You start feeling sorry for yourself, then all you have to do is look at what’s happened in other people’s camps and you realize that’s why you try to build as much depth as you can,” general manager Ed Wade said. “And that’s why every GM in the game, when you get to the last 10 days of spring training, you start to hold your breath and hope that things like this don’t occur.”

“It’s sort of the rite of spring that we make our plans and then some disappointment occurs along the way,” he said.

Humberto Quintero and J.R. Towles will split the catching duties, although Towles was scratched from Saturday’s exhibition lineup due to back spasms.

“Quintero will catch (Brett) Myers, and then we would divide it up from there,” manager Brad Mills said. “A lot of it depends on off-days, it depends on how things go during the season and how they’re playing and swinging the bat. All those things come into play.”